February 13, 2025

Anniversary Staycation at Nawa Wellness Calatagan

Since last month, my mom always asked me where we are going to celebrate our wedding anniversary and I always say, hindi ko alam baka kakain lang kami sa labas. And now February is here and we still don’t have definite plans. 

I was contemplating if we would have a weekend getaway or food trip. Pero kung weekend getaway naman, wala na ko maisip na puntahan na resort. I even checked the list of exhibitors of the recent PTAA Travel Expo baka may magandang puntahan pero ayaw ko naman pumunta sa travel expo because I still can’t forget our last visit kasi kaya tinamad na ko. 

For the past few years, we celebrated our anniversary at Chateau Hestia, La Chevrerie Resort and Spa, and Nawa Wellness Calatagan. And now, I realized that I haven’t shared our Anniversary Staycation at Nawa Wellness so let me do a throwback post. 


Nawa Wellness is a new eco-luxury holistic wellness destination in the Philippines. Before kasi, when we say wellness resort, The Farm at San Benito ang naiiisip natin but now, meron ng ibang option. My husband just inquired and reserved our room via their Facebook Page and to guarantee the reservation, 100% deposit for the first night is required. 


Calatagan, Batangas is not that far but we still traveled early because I wanted to eat Breakfast at La Creperie - Twin Lakes. Then after our breakfast, we went straight to Nawa Wellness. This was the third resort that we visited in Calatagan, Batangas. We have tried Golden Sunset Resort and Stilts Calatagan before but only for a day trip. 

On our way to the resort, we were surprised na may harang, so need pala namin magbayad ng Ecological Fee. I thought sa San Juan, Batangas lang ito, meron din pala sa Calatagan. The small booth is about 15 minutes away from Nawa Wellness so kaya pala hindi namin naexperience sa ibang resorts na bandang unahan. 

Ecological Fee

PHP30 - Adult 
PHP24 - Senior, PWD, and Children 

Anniversary Staycation at Nawa Wellness Calatagan 

A few days before our trip, the staff asked for our arrival time and my husband said, 11AM but we arrived at 9:30AM, sobrang napaaga. When we got there, we realized na one-way pala yung daan so mahirap kapag may kasabayan kaya pala they asked for our arrival time so they can prepare. 


The guard asked us to wait while the staff are preparing, so dahil napaaga kami hindi pa sila ready. They have a “Welcome Ritual” for all the incoming guests pala. So may pausok and sinabitan din kami ng lei. 


At the reception, they served our welcome drinks and gave us a brief introduction about the resort, activities, restaurant, and others. We already paid for our accommodation but there is a PHP6000 cash deposit. 



Check-in time is 2PM so we were surprised when the staff informed us that our room was already ready. Yes, early check-in. Before we went to our room, we ordered our lunch. The place is not that really big, pero sumakay pa kami ng service on our way to our room together with our butler “Jaspher’.

If we need anything, we can just message our butler so yung mga order namin na food, paschedule ng spa and activities, sa kanya kami nag-iinform. 


Escolta Room (Superior Room) 

As of this writing, I checked their website, iba na pala name ng rooms nila. So I was assuming yung Escolta Room namin is under Superior Room. Last year they had packages but since I’m not fond of body treatment or massage, I told my husband na Room with Breakfast lang kami. Escolta Room is PHP5,600 for 2 persons and PHP2,000 for extra person. 

This is the room. 


The bathroom is small. 


There is a water dispenser, gazebo area and small swimming pool in this building so pwede na kung ayaw mo maglakad ng malayo para sa malaking pool. 




For our food, you can read the “What to Eat at Nawa Wellness” post. I shared on this post what we ate during lunch, dinner, and breakfast. 



My husband and son also availed of the Banana Body Wrap, PHP2,600 per person and it is only 45 minutes. My husband said, “Okay lang” so nanghinayang yata sa PHP2,600 niya. Hehehe!



Nawa Wellness Activities 

Prior to our visit, I thought we would just eat and rest at Nawa Wellness so I was really surprised that they offer activities too just like our experience at The Farm at San Benito. 

7AM Guide Walk 
7:30AM Breathwork 
9:30AM Mandala 
3:15PM Meal Prep 
4PM Hiking 
6PM Reiki 

Make sure to book in advance because slots are limited. We were not able to experience the Reiki kasi fully booked na. 

There are also paid activities. During our trip, there was “Hilom and Likha” and I was lucky to try this activity. The activity is from 3 to 6PM, so I did not join the Meal Prep and Hiking activities.



For Meal Prep, the chef taught them "how to make 3 kinds of juices using cucumber apple, watermelon, banana, turmeric juice, honey and lemon". 


For Hiking, nakakapagod ito, 250 steps daw yung inakyat nila. Buti na lang may free bottled water. 


The following day, we joined the Breathwork and Mandala Activities. 



After the Mandala activity, we went home already. Overall, we enjoyed our short weekend getaway. The service is good from the reception, restaurant, and all the staff na makakasalubong mo. 


Nawa Wellness 
Brgy. Bagong Silang,
Calatagan Batangas

February 11, 2025

Valentine Craft Projects

I still have a long list of Valentine Craft Projects that I want to do pero ilang araw na lang pala Valentine’s Day na so I guess, next year na lang ulit yung iba.

I’m sharing the different craft projects that I made for the past few weeks.

Valentine Bookmark Crayon Holders 

When my son was still in his toddler years, I always saw this type of craft project and this is a nice birthday giveaway or gifts for friends or classmates that won’t hurt your budget. I wanted to do this for a long time but I don’t have the machine or tools. 


Even though my son is no longer a kid, I still purchased the Valentine Bookmark Crayon Holders SVG file. Actually, I had this file for three years already, and now ko lang nagawa.


This is another Valentine Crayon Holder but I can’t remember where I got the file. 

Cute Penguin Valentine Card 


This Cute Penguin Valentine Card is from Jen Goode, I got the file from one of the summits I joined but if you have a Cricut Access Subscription, you can recreate the project. 

Valentine’s Gift Layered Card - Love 


This file is from The Bearded Housewife’s Made with Love Summit 2024. I plan to use this as a cake topper. 

Valentine Teddy Bear Heart Box 



I mentioned before that I will recreate the Valentine Teddy Bears using a different cardstock. This is better compared to my first project. I used this to decorate my Heart Box.

Valentine Truck 


The Valentine Truck is from Craft with Sarah, you can use this as a cake topper, tag or decorate your card. 

Flower Pot Valentine Card 


The truck layered craft collection is already over and Craft with Sarah has started her new collection. And so far, she has two flower pot designs but I only cut the Flower Pot Valentine Card and used it to decorate my Valentine's Card. 

Butterflies and Flowers Card


I made this Butterflies and Flowers Card last year but I think I can also use this as a Valentine's Card or Anniversary Card.

Will You Be My Player 2? 

This Gamer Card was my entry for Bee Happy Weeklies Week 46: Pixel. I made this last year but I can also use this for Valentine’s Card. 



I printed the design, attached it to the cardstock, and glued my Layered Male and Female Gamer Gnomes. The Gamer Gnomes are from Craft with Sarah.

Cupid 


This cupid is designed by Craft with Sarah.

3D Valentine Gnomes


I had a hard time cutting the dress of the 3D Valentine Gnomes but I didn’t want to waste more paper so I still assembled them even though the cut was not perfect. 

February 06, 2025

Valentine Layered Card

When I had my Cricut Maker, my family stopped buying cards, so if they needed one, they could just get it from my stash. Kahit na ako pa yung bibigyan nila ng card, ang importante naman yung message na isusulat so I don’t mind receiving my own homemade cards. February is also our wedding anniversary month, so I made a lot of cards for more options.

All of Me Loves All of You Tent Card 

The All of Me Loves All of You Tent Card is from My 3D SVG site, this is a shadow box but I used it for a tent card to display on my computer table. 


The following four cards are designed by Craft with Sarah. I uploaded all the SVG files on Cricut Design Space, changed a few colors, and cut. 








February 05, 2025

Unlimited Japanese Barbeque at Sumo Niku

It’s been a while since we visited unlimited barbecue or barbeque restaurant, I was checking my blog, 2022 pa yung last kain namin sa Korean Restaurant; we ate at Oori and Romantic Baboy. Nagsawa and tamad na rin kami magluto kasi. Hehehe! 

Just this week, we had an appointment with our ophthalmologists and it meant, new eyeglasses again so we went to SM Sta Rosa to buy eyeglasses frames. After purchasing our frames, it was time for lunch so we looked for a restaurant. MagBistro restaurant na naman sana kami kaso sa February 7 pa daw yung next na 50% off. 

And since ang haba pa ng waiting time namin before our appointment, we decided to try the Unlimited Japanese Barbeque of Sumo Niku. Pero wala naman ako nakitang difference between Japanese and Korean Barbecue restaurant. In fact, may kimchi pa sa Sumo Niku. Hehehe! 


All Day Rate of PHP599, you can eat unlimited 7 kinds of pork, 4 kinds of beef, 2 kinds of chicken, 2 kinds of seafood, rice, side dishes, soup, and mozzarella cheese. 


Before we enter, the staff informed us na hindi available yung Japanese Kurobota Ham but we still ate kahit kulang ng isang meat. Sayang lang kasi konti lang yung meat from Japan tapos kulang pa. 


To place your order, just fill out the order slips. We ordered all the side dishes and for meat, we only ordered pork and beef. We tried the US Premium Beef Teriyaki Sauce, US Wagyu Beef, U.S. Marinated Beef, Chuck Eye Steak, Kurobuta (Japanese Black Pork), and Black Pepper Pork Belly. I also added rice and miso soup. 




Service is fast, nadedeliver naman agad yung order. I was slightly disappointed lang sa cheese, kasi sabi mozzarella cheese but when I saw the color and tasted it, hindi siya lasang mozzarella. We always buy mozzarella cheese kasi because I like the creamy and milky flavor and yung stretchy when melted. Hindi ganun yung cheese na meron sila. 

Anyway, customers can stay strictly for up to 3 hours only but we were done eating in less than an hour.

Restaurant Policy 

Customers can stay strictly for up to 3 hours only 
No leftover. No takeout. PHP320 will be charged per pax for leftovers. 

Sumo Niku Rate 

PHP599 - adult 
PHP 295 - children below 4ft 
FREE - children below 3ft 

Gyuniku (Beef Menu) 

US Premium Beef Thin Cut 
US Premium Beef Teriyaki Sauce 
US Wagyu Beef 
US Marinated Beef 
Chuck Eye Steak B5 Limited Offer 

Butaniku (Pork Menu) 

Pork Belly Thin Cut 
Unmarinated Pork Belly 
Kurobuta (Japanese Black Pork)
Black Pepper Pork Belly 
Pork Belly with Teriyaki Sauce 
Spicy Pork Belly 
Japanese Kurobuta Ham 

Torimono (Chicken Menu) 

Teriyaki Chicken 
Japanese Spicy Chicken 

Shifudo (Seafood Menu) 

Japanese Crab Stick 
Japanese Fish Cake 

Side Dishes 

Buttered Corn 
Coleslaw 
Mashed Potato 
Fruit Salad 
Seaweed 
Lettuce 
Kimchi 
Atchara 

Sumo Niku 
SM City Sta. Rosa Tagapo 
Sta. Rosa Laguna 4026

February 03, 2025

Lunch at Kuya J Restaurant

Last month, my friend sent me a message, informing me about the 50% off Set Meals of Kuya J restaurant and I told her, wala na si Echo diyan. Hehehe! Feeling naman lagi nasa restaurant si Jericho Rosales


A few weeks later, my husband and I had lunch at Kuya J and availed of the 50% off Set Meals. There are three choices, and we chose the cheapest set, Set C for PHP600. The set includes Grilled Pork Belly, Sinigang na Bangus, Crispy Pinakbet, Kakanin Trio, Plain Rice Platter, and Iced Tea Pitcher. 


While waiting for our food, we were surprised kasi may complimentary snacks na pala ang Kuya J. 






The meal is good for 2-3 persons and we thought, hindi namin mauubos yung food pero naubos pala namin. And my husband ordered Halo-Halo PHP68 pa kasi 50% off din. 


So far, kada visit ko sa Kuya J, paiba-iba yung menu nila pero sobrang sulit yung 50% off Set Meals.

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